It's everywhere. First we become interested in concerts with "relaxed" atmospheres that supposedly will attract young people who don't want to be told they can't talk during the performance. If a bit of quiet yakking is permitted, the theory goes, it'll be more like a cool rock/jazz gig or the cinema. But then we realise we don't like this very much.

If every form of art-for-a-seated-audience pulls together, maybe there'll be some progress...

Tags:

Like this article? Share, save or print using the icons below

Peter

February 28th, 201011:02 AM

I've not been to many rock gigs, fearing the excessive volume as someone who plays music for a living. I went to Pink Floyd at Earls Court a few years ago. The light-show, projections and pyrotechnics were spectactular, and I had expected really high quality in the sound. But as usual it was just too loud and distorted as a result, and I had to resort to cotton-wool to preserve my hearing, which has the unwanted effect of muffling the treble. Perhaps I need some higher quality ear-plugs, but why should I need them at all? It also didn't help that there was so much smoking (not all ordinary tobacco either, I suspect) inside the venue, which was clearly marked "no smoking", and the staff were not prepared to do anything about it.
When I hear live recordings of pop concerts or see them on TV, the audience noise, singing-along or cheering and waving of hands in the air are enough to put me off going again - I last noticed these when Kraftwerk were shown on TV, a fairly cerebral group who are hardly appropriate for that kind of thing. The concert was broadcast on BBC4 with subtitles in German, which was rather impressive! When I took a group of my school pupils to hear this group 20 years ago, the concert started an hour late and the whole audience stood up for the entire gig, which was in the Mayflower Theatre where we go for opera in Southampton. I spent the time perched on the back of my seat. Pointless!

Post your comment

Your name: *

E-mail: *

Comment: *

Subject:

CAPTCHA

This question is for testing whether you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

What is the second word in the phrase "ayewo ibawocu voyu tuzer viw"?: *

About Jessica Duchen

Jessica Duchen is a music journalist and the author of four novels, two biographies and several stage works. She writes regularly for The Independent and BBC Music Magazine. Her latest novel, Songs of Triumphant Love, is published by Hodder.